Marion Hobby – August 27, 2020
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Thursday, August 27, 2020
Defensive Line Coach Marion Hobby
(DT Christian Wilkins, how do you keep him encouraged with the new role that he kind of has in a certain package for you on defense; whereas he’s not in every package like he was last season?) – “I think it’s still early – early in the process – and I think he’s a worker. He’s still getting plenty of reps in practice and I think how we do things around here, people kind of like keeping them inside guys fresh and they’re rolling. I think if he has a problem, he would have come to me or ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) or ‘Coach Boyer’ (Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer). He’s just got his head down working and it’s still an early process.”
(I wanted to ask you about the other day, the defensive line had a bunch of batted passes down at the line scrimmage. Obviously the length and those big powerful hands can go a long way to help those guys detach and get their hands on the football; but I was curious if you could explain the value of length and heavy hands in your system specifically as it pertains to kind of holding the point against the run but also as a pass rusher?) – “I think that’s big-time important. When you look at the offensive tackles and the offensive linemen even in this league, they’re pretty big guys. So being able to attack them at the point of attack with strong hands, being able to separate off guys and then batting down passes is a lot of timing. The guys are what, getting separation, getting their eyes, seeing the quarterback’s hands come off and being able to get their hands up. Being able to – them taller guys, them bigger guys – being able to separate from these big offensive linemen and being able to get their hands up is huge.”
(Just how DT Raekwon Davis has looked and is there a substantial gap between DT Christian Wilkins, DT Davon Godchaux and DT Raekwon Davis or is Davis pushing those two veterans?) – “Well, I’ll you what. He’s looked impressive. He can get in there. He’s a big man. He’s powerful and he kind of sticks out a little bit sometimes, especially in the run game. I think all three of those guys are competing at a high level and with a 16-game season and planning on winning a lot of games, I think all three of them are very important to what we’re doing. That’s a position where if you can keep guys fresh in there, you’re really in good shape.”
(I know that DE Jason Strowbridge is a rookie and he’s got a million things to learn, but what are your two things that you really harp on him about that you want him to get better at?) – “Probably about his natural get-off. He’s kind of thinking a little bit. You can tell he’s a young guy. He wants to please and sometimes – a guy told me a long time ago, ‘a confused player and a non-motivated player look the same’ – and I think sometimes he’s a little bit confused and wants to please, wants to be correct and sometimes, just man, just turn it loose and go. But I’ll tell you what, he does flash at you a lot. He does a lot of good things that catch your eye that keeps you on his trail. You push him a little bit, but he does a lot of good stuff. I always tell him, ‘hey man, react,’ rather than thinking this thing through.”
(Obviously you coached at Clemson. You have a bunch of guys in your room from Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, another one from Clemson as well. I’ll add DE Jason Strowbridge in the mix because he’s a South Florida kid. What is it about that Southeastern kind of football that lends to what you’re looking for from your defensive players?) – “You always get a little partial. (laughter) I played in the SEC, I’ve coached in the ACC and dealt with a lot of these guys. Just not necessarily the conference aspect of it, but more or less of we’re looking for them (to be) physical, tough, smart guys who – they’re coming from those conferences and they’re used to that type of play on a consistent basis. The SEC is a big run league. The ACC is kind of a run and pass league, so those guys come out of systems where they’re used to playing the way they play in this league.”
(I hate to bring it back to DE Jason Strowbridge again, but you mentioned the things that flash and that he does a lot of good things. Like what?) – “I would say sometimes in the run game – he’s a 275-pound guy. He can hole-point, get separation on the offensive linemen; but I’ll tell you, in the pass game sometimes he – you’d think he would just be a power guy and then sometimes he gets on the edge on an offensive lineman and you can really see his natural quickness, too. So when he’s going, he’s going now. Now did I think he was going to be just more of just a hands-on power guy? I did, but then sometimes you’ll see him get on the edge of linemen and see him work his hips and that finesse aspect of him and you’ll go, ‘okay, I see you, Strowbridge.’ So I think he’s got a little bit of a variety to his game and it’s just a matter of when it’s starting to come out. I think he can rush a little bit. He can play the run. That’s what you want to see – a guy who can hopefully develop into a three-down player over time.”
